by Abigail Keam
Asa shot a kiss at me. “Merry Christmas, Mother.”
“Merry Christmas, Daughter.”
45
It was a sunny morning and I was reading the newspaper by the back windows where the light was best.
There was the curious story on the front page about a young guest of Lady Elsmere’s who opened her gun collection without permission and accidentally shot himself with an antique women’s derringer on Christmas Day. It also stated that Lady Elsmere’s nephew, Sir Anthony, would be returning to London after the holidays.
So that old bird covered everything up. I had to laugh and was still chuckling when the phone rang.
“Mrs. Reynolds?”
“This is she.”
“This is Charlotte. Remember me? The lab technician.”
I straightened up in my chair. “Yes, I do, Charlotte.”
“I’ve finished the lab report. In fact, I did it twice just to be sure.”
“Just put it in the mail, dear.”
“I think you’d better come and get it personally. I wouldn’t want it to get lost.”
There was silence on my end as I tried to process what she was saying to me. “Okay. Can I pick it up tomorrow?”
“Yes ma’am. Anytime between noon and five. I want to explain some things to you.”
“I’ll be there at one thirty.”
“That’s fine.” She hung up.
What did she find that she couldn’t tell me on the phone?
I didn’t like the sound of it.
46
Charlotte showed me into the conference room. She had a sealed container with the chocolate horse and a lengthy report. She turned the file toward me. There were many areas highlighted with a yellow marker. She pointed to these areas with her pencil.
“The report conclusively states that the hair on the horse was the same as the DNA in the hair sample that you supplied.”
“You’re positive?”
“It’s 99.97 percent correct.” Charlotte hesitated for a moment. “I did something I wasn’t suppose to do, but you said this hunk of chocolate might solve the mystery of that missing man.”
I nodded, waiting for her to continue.
“My boyfriend is studying to be a forensic anthropologist. His mentor is an expert in forensic osteology.”
“What’s that?”
“The study of the cause of death from bone fragments.”
“But there are no bone fragments.”
“Yes, there were . . . are. I found very tiny fragments stuck in the part of the horse where it looked like the leg had been melted and stuck back on.”
“And?” I was finding it hard to breathe.
“They are part of a human tooth.”
“Oh dear,” was all I could say.
“The tooth fragments are too small to do anything with other than identify them as an adult human. Here’s the report from my boyfriend’s mentor, but he won’t sign it as it is not official.” Charlotte placed it in front of me. “I hope you’re not angry with me.”
I quickly read the sparse report. “No, no. Not at all. Just stunned. I was so hoping that the results would be different.”
“This is about murder now, isn’t it?”
“It could be any number of things, but it doesn’t look good.” I gathered up the report.
Charlotte put the container on a cart and wheeled it out to my car. She helped me put it in the back seat. “I could get into a lot of trouble for taking the tooth sample out of the lab.”
“I’ll keep your name out of this if I can but if something should arise, the police might want to talk with you,” I replied.
“Let me know what happens.”
“You bet.” We shook hands and parted.
The problem was what do I do now?
47
I dumped the lab container on Goetz’s desk.
“And a Happy New Year to you too,” declared Goetz.
I placed a large hamper by his feet.
He kicked it under his desk and looked around to see if anyone had noticed.
“Two Cornish hens with wild rice and pecan stuffing, wilted swiss chard, old fashioned lettuce wedge with homemade blue cheese and bacon dressing and an Apple Betty for dessert.”
“Isn’t an Apple Betty a little humble to go with Cornish hens?”
“It’s what I had in the house.”
“What can I do you for?”
“For you to do your job.”
“I told you that a body was needed for further investigation.”
I pulled out the bag with the tooth fragments from the container and threw it at him. “You got it.”
Goetz picked up the bag, studying it.
“If you want the provenance of this chocolate, call up Ginny Wheelwright. I presume you have her number?”
“Do me a favor. Don’t call me. I’ll call you.”
I started to leave. “Oh, Goetz.”
“Yeah?”
“Happy New Year.”
48
Asa had flown back to London, while Boris stayed a few more days to keep an eye on Farley.
He rolled in around eight one morning. I got up to fix him breakfast before he went to bed.
“Just some milk and pastry, please,” requested Boris in his thick European accent. “No eggs or meat. Too heavy before I sleep.”
I poured some hot tea in a clear glass, poured another glass of milk and retrieved some Danish out of the freezer, which I quickly nuked. Putting the food on a tray, I took it to the dining room table where Boris was already nodding off.
“Just resting my eyes,” he muttered, jerking up in his seat.
I placed the food before him.
Boris smiled when he saw the glass of hot tea. “That is how we serve hot tea in my country. No fancy little cups.”
“I know.”
Boris hungrily tore at the pastry.
I waited until he had eaten.
Finishing his milk, he leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes again.
“Before you fall asleep, did you find out anything?”
Boris gave me a slippery smile. “Ya. Find out some things. Farley? He spends the night at his best friend Dwight’s house. Left at six.”
“That’s juicy. But he and Selena could have hooked up after Dwight’s disappearance. Doesn’t mean anything.”
“I think it does. He peeked through front curtains seeing if anyone was outside. Then he looks around coming out. He is pretending . . . no, the word is sneaking. Don’t want anyone to know he’s there.”
Boris pulled out a small digital camera and showed me the pictures.
It did indeed look like Farley was trying to leave the house undetected. But it still didn’t prove anything.
“And this.” Boris pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. He handed it to me.
“That Susie Brinkman who said she lives in Houston now. Checked it out. No Susie Brinkman from Kentucky lives in Houston.
“I did more checking. There is a Susie Brinkman who lives in Waddy, Kentucky and works at insurance company in Frankfort. Here’s address. I don’t know if same Susie Brinkman but description matches.” Boris yawned. “I go to bed now. When I wake up, you take me to airport. I fly to London.”
I absent-mindedly nodded to Boris while looking at the information about Susie. Did that little button of a girl lie to me?
Tonight I would drive Boris to the Bluegrass Airport.
Tomorrow I would seek out one Susie Brinkman of Waddy, Kentucky.
49
I called Amanda early the next morning.
“Amanda, this is Josiah Reynolds.”
“Hi.”
“Just wanted to thank you again for giving me Susie’s phone number.”
“Did you get a hold of her?”
“Yeah. It was the strangest coincidence. When I got in touch, she just happened to be at the Bluegrass Airport waiting for a connection.”
“What luck.”
“Funny huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Amanda, I just have a few more questions if you don’t mind. What did Susie do at the office?”
“She handled all the paperwork for the office like the contracts.”
“Did she handle insurance?”
“That’s what she was best at. Susie had a real knack of understanding insurance of all types.”
“Did she handle insurance for any of the employees in the office?”
“Of course. I went through Susie to get several polices and she handled all the health insurance policies.”
“She handle life insurance?”
“Yes.”
“You know that five hundred thousand dollar life insurance policy that Dwight took out? Was that customary?”
“Most of us had smaller polices. Even Farley. I thought it odd that it would be so large an amount. I mean, Dwight was in excellent health and young. I didn’t think he needed a big policy like that. The premiums would have been very high.”
“Who handled that policy?”
“Susie.”
“Thanks Amanda. That’s all I wanted to know.”
50
I waited in the parking lot of the address in Frankfort that Boris had given me. I figured Susie would be the type to eat lunch out. So I hunkered down looking through my binoculars, munching on my tuna fish sandwich.
Finally around 1:20, Susie rushed to her car in the parking lot.
I hunkered down.
It was snowing, so she had her coat lapel pulled up around her face. Susie slowly drove out of the parking lot as it was covered with lots of black ice.
I followed at a discreet distance. Passing as she pulled into a chain restaurant’s parking lot, I doubled back and parked in the handicapped space, which gave me a good view of her table. I waited for her to get settled and to make sure she wasn’t having lunch with a friend.
After she placed her order, I got out of the car and headed inside. I made straight for her table.
“Hi,” I chirped sprightly. “How ya doing, Susie?”
Susie gave a start.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m Mrs. Reynolds. Remember – we talked at the Bluegrass Airport. You were on your way to Houston.”
Catching her breath, Susie decided to brave my sucker punch. “Yes, I remember. Do you have any news of Dwight?”
“He’s still missing,” I chirped brightly after telling the waitress I didn’t want anything.
Susie looked downfallen. “Oh, that’s terrible.”
“Yeah, isn’t it? Funny running into you like this but it’s great. I still have some questions.”
I could tell Susie was trying to figure out if I had followed her or this was really a chance meeting. She decided to play along.
“Anything I can do to help.”
“Wonderful. Amanda said that you handled most of the office paperwork concerning insurance and health polices.”
“That’s correct.”
“Did you help Dwight with his five-hundred-thousand dollar life insurance policy?”
“Yes.”
“Amanda told me that no one else had such a large life insurance policy. Do you know why he took out such a large sum?”
“He wanted to make sure if something happened to him that Selena would never have to work.”
“Then why was Selena’s name not on the policy?”
Susie opened her mouth and closed it again. She truly looked stymied. “I don’t know. Her name was on the policy as the only beneficiary when I did the paperwork. Dwight must have had it changed after I left.”
“Why would he do that?”
Susie looked about for an escape. I could tell she was confused and just wanted to leave.
I lifted my cane into her booth seats so she would either have to push it out of the way or climb over it. Either way it would cause attention.
“Susie?”
“You’re embarrassing me.”
“It could get a lot worse. I’m notorious for causing scenes in public. Answer my questions truthfully and I will leave. But if I think you’re lying, I will do something unexpected and the police will probably be called.”
“Good,” she hissed.
“I don’t think so for you. I will call Detective Goetz and he will call the Frankfort police to hold you. The police will just give me a warning and let me go after I give them some lame story of my medication making me erratic. But they will make you wait for the indomitable Detective Goetz, who will want to know about your affair with Dwight Wheelwright and if you were really in Houston when he disappeared on July third.
“Go to hell,” Susie ranted.
“I wouldn’t make a run for it either. I let the air out of two of your tires before coming in.” I grimaced. “Sorry about that.”
“What do you want, bitch?”
“I can see that we are getting personal. Okay, you little twerp. Let’s have some answers. Whose idea was it for the life insurance policy? Why would Dwight bother if he was going to leave anyway?”
“It was Selena. She had been after him for months about it. He wanted to get her off his back.”
“Did she say why?”
“Just wanted that safety net, I guess. Dwight never discussed it with me. Just told me to get it.”
“And she was the only beneficiary?”
“Yes. I know that for a fact.”
“So it is a surprise to you that her name is not on the policy now?”
Susie nodded before taking a sip of her water. She dabbed her paper napkin in the water glass and patted her face.
“Were you really having an affair with Dwight?”
Susie paused for a moment and then said, “Yes.”
“Susie. You know if Dwight’s body pops up and his cause of death is murder, you might be charged with being an accessory or interfering with an investigation. I can think of several charges that might apply.”
Susie’s eyes took on the look that a rabbit has when she sees a big bobcat getting ready to pounce. “All right. I didn’t have an affair with Dwight.”
“Who told you to say that you did?”
“Farley. Farley paid me to tell anyone who asked to say that Dwight and I had been having an affair.”
“You didn’t think that bizarre?”
“Yes, I thought it strange but the money was too good. I took it and didn’t ask any questions.”
I gave Susie an odd look.
“Don’t you dare judge me,” spat out Susie. “I needed the money. I had some serious bills.”
“Did Farley give a reason why?” I asked.
“Just some bullshit excuse that Dwight wanted out and he was asking too much money for his half, so Farley wanted to stir up a little trouble for Dwight. Make his life a little miserable with Selena so Dwight would want out quicker and with less money.”
“I don’t see how that works.”
“Uh, duh, Selena thinks I’m having an affair with Dwight and pressures him to make a deal with Farley so Dwight would leave the business fast. He wouldn’t see me then.”
“Uh, duh, Susie, let’s say that’s true. How was that going to keep you two apart? Dwight could have seen you whenever he wanted. He didn’t have to go to the office to have an affair.”
“Not if Selena put the kabash on him. If Dwight denied having an affair with me, then she would think he was lying and keep him on a shorter leash.”
“Let me get this straight. Farley tells you that Dwight wants out and is negotiating for more money than Farley wanted to pay.”
Susie nodded her head.
“So Farley gets this idea that if he makes life miserable for Dwight by telling Selena that he is having an affair with a woman in the office, Selena will put pressure on Dwight to settle,” I repeated.
“That was the plan.”
“Did you ever talk to Selena?”
“Never saw her.”
“Did Dwight ever confront you?” I asked.
“No. He was cordial.”
“Why did you leave?”
“Farley thought it best before things exploded in the office. That’s what he said anyway. He got me this job in Frankfort with a buddy of his. It’s closer to home so I save money on gas. I’m happy with it plus I have the money Farley paid me.” Susie gave me a pained expression. I think it had just dawned on her how stupid she had been.
“So the only person you discussed this plan with was Farley?”
“And you. You were the only person who ever asked about it. Supposedly Farley told Selena this story and I was to back him up if she confronted me about it,” Susie confessed.
“Did Farley call you and tell you to expect my call?”
“Yeah. He told me he would pay me more money if I were to act as though I had been living in Houston and had been waiting for Dwight. I was at work when you called and probably got to the airport just minutes before you did.”
“That was a pretty good play – seeing me at the airport.”
“I thought it was rather smart. I knew when those Houston flights came in. If the flight had been a later time, I would have told you that I was still in Houston waiting for a flight and given you a later time to meet me at the airport. It was easy.”
“I wondered why you didn’t have any luggage with you,” I remarked.
Susie flashed me a smile. She thought I was complimenting her cleverness.
“I didn’t know Dwight was missing until Farley told me. I don’t take the paper or listen to the news. Too much stress. I was shocked,” admitted Susie. “After seeing you, I thought about calling Dwight’s mother but I realized I was in too deep. Something was not right and I didn’t want to get into trouble. Nobody from Dwight’s office really knew where I was currently living so I thought I was safe.”
“Did you ever go to Houston?”
“My mother remarried and moved there a few years ago. I did visit several weeks before I started my new job in Frankfort. As far as I was concerned I had just helped one of my bosses screw the other in a buy-out. It was business. Nothing more. But Dwight’s disappearance is something else. I didn’t bargain on that.”
